Saturday, June 19, 2010

We were just getting back from sea trials in time for Thursday's game 7 match up between our beloved Lakers and the hated Boston Celtics. Attendant responsibilities at work have prevented us from commenting on it until now.

After the game, Ron Artest thanked, among others, his psychiatrist. In the history of post-game shout-outs we can't recall a player calling out his shrink. Such was this season where the Lakers put it on cruise control the last few weeks of the season only to turn it back on for the playoffs and their rematch with the Celtics, which for such a storied rivalry has been pretty one-sided in favor of the Celtics.

Game 7 was no oil painting as the late great Chick Hearn would say but it was the glamour boys from Tinsel Town who absolutely gutted-out a first-ever Game 7 win against the Celtics, overcoming horrible shooting and a 13 point deficit to take the championship. It was a role reversal of perceived stereo-types between the two teams that made the victory all the sweeter.

We thought of Pops after this victory who moved out to the West Coast the same year the Lakers did in the early 60s. More and more of the ghosts, curses, bad memories and bad history are being cast aside as these Lakers lay claim to being the most successful franchise in team sports history.

B-Daddy has some thoughts on the victory and how it stands against the backdrop of the Celtic-Laker rivalry, here.

(pictured above is the unspoken MVP of the team, forward/center, Pau Gasol without whom these two-straight championships would not have been possible.)